Boards OK deal to limit number of county residents attending city schools
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, June 16, 2015, 10 p.m. — The Bardstown Board of Education approved an agreement with the Nelson County Schools Tuesday regarding how it will deal with students from the county school district who wish to attend the city schools.
Superintendent Brent Holsclaw speaks during Tuesday’s meeting at the Bardstown Independent School District’s central office.
In the contract, the city school district agrees that over the next 13 years, it will reduce the number of county school district students it accepts from no more than 580 this next school year to a maximum of 400 students in the 2027-29 school year.
County district students who currently attend city schools will not be affected by the agreement.
The contract the board approved follows a memoradum of agreement signed earlier this year by the two school boards, “This just tidies up the details,” Brent Holsclaw, city school superintendent told the board.
Holsclaw said he and board member Andy Stone had attended many meetings since January hammering out the details, and there had been lots of negotiating the contract’s finer points.
Stone said the agreement was something he wished could have been avoided, but he credited Nelson County Superintendent Dr. Anthony Orr and board chairman Damon Jackey for working together to reach a compromise acceptable to both parties and avoiding the need for expensive litigation.
Tuesday evening, the Nelson County Board of Education approved the same 12-page contract.
Orr called the agreement a compromise that achieved important goals while allowing both districts to avoid expensive litigation.
SUPERINTENDENT DR. ANTHONY ORR
Orr told the board that in recent years, the city school district gained an average of 28 students from the county school district each year. The first year of the contract — the 2015-16 year — will see no reduction in the number of county district students, which the contract sets at 580 students.
Beginning with the 2016-17 school year, the city school district agrees to reduce the number of county school students it accepts by 15 each year through the 2027-28 school year, when the number will be reduced to 400 county district students.
County district students attending city schools will not be asked to change schools; the contract gives these students’ younger siblings priority status in they wish to also attend city schools. Openings for county residents who wish to attend city schools will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis via online applications with an April 15 application deadline.
For families without computers or internet access, both districts will offer parents and guardians computers and technical assistance in regard to making an application.
The children of city school employees who live in the county district will be allowed to continue to send their children to city schools, and those students will not be counted as part of the contract agreement.
County school board member Larry Pate expressed his appreciation to the city schools superintendent and the city school board for working to reach the agreement. Board member Diane Berry said she wanted the county school district to be the district of choice for students who live in its district.
County school board chairman Damon Jackey also expressed appreciation to the Bardstown board of education for their willingness to work together on the issue.
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